As the newly appointed Minister for Environment and Energy, Josh Frydenberg, will be working closely with the HVACR industry. In this article, he outlines the government's energy reforms and plans to transition to a low carbon economy.
Like the rest of the world, Australia is transitioning towards a lower emissions energy future. As part of this transition we are seeing a reduction in the use of coal and an increase in the use of renewables, with the Renewable Energy Target (RET) driving a doubling in large scale renewable energy between now and 2020.
Coal-fired generation has already come down from 77 per cent in 2004 to around 60 per cent as a proportion of our overall electricity mix. Eight of our 12 most emissions intensive power stations have closed down since 2010. Renewable energy now makes up 100 per cent of all major investment in grid-connected electricity generation and there are 482 large-scale renewable power stations accredited under the RET.
The installed capacity of solar PV is now 4.8 gigawatts and AEMO projects that this will quadruple over the next 20 years. In considering how best to manage this transition, it’s important to understand that every country is starting this transition from a different point and with a different set of circumstances. For example, France produces 77 per cent of its energy from nuclear sources while hydro accounts for 98 per cent of Norway’s energy and compared to around 7 per cent in Australia.
We have recently commenced work on a Low Emissions Technology Roadmap led by the CSIRO. This roadmap will help us navigate through this transition and it will highlight areas of potential growth in Australia’s clean energy technology sector.
CSIRO forecasts that in the next 10 years, battery storage costs are expected to fall by about 60 per cent.
With our high level of rooftop solar, battery adoption is expected to grow rapidly. In anticipation, we have established a partnership between Standards Australia and the COAG Energy Council to chart a path for energy storage standards in consultation with industry, government, consumers and academia.
The Turnbull Government has a target to improve Australia’s energy productivity by 40 per cent by 2030 through a National Energy Productivity Plan (NEPP).
Energy efficiency improvements over the last 25 years saved the globe a cumulative $US 5.7 trillion in energy expenditures.
Remarkably, houses built after 2010 use around 30 per cent less electricity than houses built before 2007. This government has expanded the Commercial Building Disclosure Scheme (CBD) which will deliver net economic benefits of more than $60 million over five years through energy cost savings and productivity improvements.
Our number one priority, which involves updating minimum performance standards for lighting, will underpin a transition in lighting technology in the residential and commercial sectors with cost savings that exceed $1 billion per annum.
A home with a mix of halogen downlights and traditional halogen lights, could save $2,600 over 10 years by upgrading to LED lights at a cost of approximately $450.Significant savings can be made in other appliances too.
Introducing zone energy rating labels for air conditioners could save a house in Central Victoria over $860 per year if they use this information to choose a climate specific product.
Our proposed changes to lighting, air conditioning, chillers and other appliances could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 29 million tonnes to 2030.